JP2011003174A - Power-saving trigger-type control device for instantly varying frequency and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power-saving trigger-type control device for instantly adjusting frequency, and a method thereof.SOLUTION: The device includes a signal control unit having at least two signal input terminals, a counting control unit, and a clock generator. The two signal input terminals respectively receive trigger actions and then generate increment trigger signals and decrement trigger signals each counting to the same number as the corresponding trigger actions. The counting control unit counts the increment trigger signals or decrement trigger signals. The clock generator linearly increments or decrements output frequency according to the count of the increment trigger signals or decrement trigger signals. The device further has a power controller to regulate output voltage. The present invention can dynamically and instantly vary the frequency/voltage of the system via external control actions in any case to achieve power efficiency.

Description

  The present invention relates to an over / underclock technology for a mother board, and more particularly, to a power-saving trigger control device capable of instantaneously adjusting a frequency capable of fine voltage adjustment in addition to frequency adjustment, and a method thereof. Is.

  The operation clock frequency of the CPU is composed of an external frequency and a frequency multiplier. External frequency refers to the overall system bus frequency. The frequency multiplier is a frequency multiplier coefficient, and there is a ratio between the CPU clock frequency (internal frequency) and the external frequency. This ratio relationship is the frequency multiplier coefficient. In order to improve the efficiency of the computer system under limited conditions, the CPU external frequency and frequency multiplier are manually installed to operate the CPU at a higher frequency, which is called overclocking.

  Currently, there are three types of methods for achieving overclocking. One is a method of changing the external frequency. The external frequency is increased by changing the entire system bus frequency for communication between the CPU and the CPU external peripheral elements. The second is a method of changing the frequency multiplier. Since the frequency multiplier is the ratio between the internal frequency of the CPU and the external frequency, the CPU frequency multiplier is changed to increase the CPU operating frequency. Achieve overclocking. Thirdly, since the CPU operating voltage is directly changed and the core voltage in the CPU operating voltage is related to the voltage value of the CPU internal calculation, many overclocks are simultaneously performed by increasing the core voltage during CPU calculation. , Stable quickly.

  However, no matter which method is used and CPU overclocking is executed, when the overclocking reaches one high frequency point for the existing motherboard, the subsequent fine frequency adjustment operation, for example, 1 to 2 MH, or others The clock generator can be adjusted by adjusting in the basic input / output system (BIOS) menu, using software under the operating system (OS), or interrupting the firmware development system. It is necessary to write in (Clock Generator) and make fine adjustments. Alternatively, although it is controlled by a hardware button, it is necessary to control the clock generator by continuously transmitting interruption control by firmware. At this time, due to excessive interruption, the operation efficiency is greatly reduced, and the load on the system also increases.

  More specifically, the existing fine adjustment technique uses hardware to set a signal for increasing the frequency first, put it in the register 14, and as shown in FIG. After the confirmation button 10 is pressed, the firmware controller 12 is notified by a signal transmitted from the confirmation button 10 and a signal for changing the frequency set in the register 14 is read. Further, the firmware controller 12 writes the value of the frequency to be changed into the clock generator 16 via a system management bus (SM BUS) or a 12C bus, and adjusts the frequency. This type of system requires not only processing by the CPU, but also complicated operation, takes time, and interrupts the system and other programs being processed by the CPU. Therefore, it is impossible to perform switching operations such as immediate frequency increase and decrease.

  Another existing technology directly installs an acceleration mode (turbo mode) on a motherboard product, and the CPU initial frequency of the system is set to a fixed ratio n%, for example, 3% after pressing Turbo. %, 5%, etc. can be added, and when it is pressed once again, it returns to the CPU initial frequency. This method can only perform primary overclocking, cannot increase / decrease indefinitely, and cannot perform fine adjustment such as linear increase of a small frequency of 1 MHz.

  As described above, the current fine frequency adjustment cannot be performed immediately, that is, when playing a game or testing a program, the effect and level cannot be increased by immediate overclocking. According to the Turbo method, the frequency jumps too high and may crash. Furthermore, current technology cannot achieve the energy saving effect due to immediate underclocking. For example, if the system is running a CPU frequency that does not need to rely on high efficiency when it is likely that the battery will run out of power, the frequency will be drastically reduced to reduce CPU power consumption and battery usage time. Extending this is not possible with existing technology.

  In addition, for the change of the CPU operating voltage, the voltage raising / lowering technology of the existing DC power supply regulator (DC-DC Power regulator) mainly adjusts the voltage by starting the software in the BIOS or the OS. In particular, when the frequency is raised or lowered, immediacy and precise voltage adjustment cannot be flexibly performed by hardware. Current technology can directly adjust the hardware to change the feedback voltage detected by the power supply regulator and then change the output voltage without software / firmware. However, the voltage increase is difficult to accurately control with a variable resistor, and the instantaneous voltage change amount is too large and is easily lost.

  Therefore, there is a need for a power-saving trigger control device capable of immediate frequency adjustment and a method for solving the above-described problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a power-saving trigger control device capable of instantaneously adjusting a frequency and a method thereof, and to solve the above-described problems.

  According to the power-saving trigger control device and method of the present invention capable of instantaneously adjusting the frequency, the frequency / voltage of the system is linearly adjusted by the external control immediately under any state of the system, However, according to the actual usage situation, not only immediately improve the efficiency of the system, but also instantly reduce / decrease the frequency and adjust the dynamics, but also have power management capability to save power Can do. Furthermore, the frequency / voltage can be raised and lowered without using any software or firmware, which provides immediateness and is more flexible in use.

  The power-saving trigger control device and method of the present invention capable of instantaneous frequency adjustment execute precise overclocking / underclocking when the system power is insufficient, thereby suppressing power consumption of the system and reducing power consumption. Achieve.

  The power-saving trigger control device and method of the present invention capable of instantaneously adjusting the frequency are capable of finely overclocking the system and operating at different frequencies based on the system load during the game program being executed. Can do.

  The power-saving trigger control device capable of instantaneously adjusting the frequency according to the present invention has two signal input terminals, and each of the corresponding number of increasing trigger signals or decreasing trigger signals is based on the number of triggers by the user. Based on the signal control unit that generates the signal, the count control unit that counts the received increase trigger signal or the decrease trigger signal, and the number of the increase trigger signal or the decrease trigger signal counted by the count control unit, Each includes a clock generator that provides the CPU chipset with a linear increase or decrease of the output frequency.

  The trigger control device further includes a power controller, and is connected to the signal control unit to linearly increase or decrease the output voltage based on the number of the above-described increasing trigger signal or decreasing trigger signal, respectively. . The power supply controller counts the number of increasing trigger signals or decreasing trigger signals using a built-in counting controller or an external counting controller.

In addition to the above-described trigger control device that adjusts the frequency, the present invention provides a trigger control method and adjusts the frequency / voltage increase and decrease immediately. This method consists of the following steps.
Frequency increasing period: The first signal input terminal is triggered to generate a corresponding number of increasing trigger signals based on the number of triggers. Calculate the first cumulative number of incremental trigger signals. Based on the first cumulative number, the same number of linear multiplications are performed on the output frequency.
Frequency declining period: The second signal input terminal is triggered to generate a corresponding number of declining trigger signals based on the number of triggers. Calculate the second cumulative number of decreasing trigger signals. Based on the second cumulative number, the same number of linear diminutions are performed on the output frequency.

  Based on the above-described frequency increase period and further the first cumulative number, a linear increase is selectively performed on the output voltage. A linear reduction is selectively performed on the output voltage based on the frequency reduction period and the second cumulative number.

  The present invention utilizes external operational control to achieve immediate linear adjustment of the system frequency, or voltage ramp, under any state of the computer system, the user can Improving system efficiency instantly or raising and lowering frequency and voltage instantly to achieve the dual purpose of dynamic regulation and power saving.

It is a figure which performs frequency adjustment by a well-known technique. It is a whole structure figure of the trigger control device of the present invention. 1 is an overall structural diagram of a trigger control apparatus combined with power management according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the frequency trigger control apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the voltage trigger control apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows another Example of the voltage trigger control apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which produces | generates the pulse which changes an output power supply for every four pulse periods of this invention.

The overall structure of the power-saving trigger control device of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2, and includes a signal control unit 20 having a first signal input terminal 201 and a second signal input terminal 203, a count control unit 22, a clock generator 24, Consists of.
The first signal input terminal 201 and the second signal input terminal 203 are, for example, a touch control interface, a button, a key, and the like. The first signal input terminal 201 receives the same number of increasing trigger signals based on the number of triggers. The second signal input terminal 203 generates the same number of decreasing trigger signals based on the number of triggers.
The counting control unit 22 is electrically connected to the signal control unit 20 and counts the number of received increasing trigger signals or decreasing trigger signals. At this time, the clock generator 24 outputs the output frequency linearly increased or decreased to one fixed frequency width based on the number of the increasing trigger signal or the decreasing trigger signal counted by the counting control unit 22, respectively. Provided to chipset 28. In addition, the power controller 26 is also connected to the first signal input terminal 201 and the second signal input terminal 203, and is based on the number of increasing trigger signals or decreasing trigger signals counted by the built-in counting controller or the external counting controller. , Each output voltage is linearly increased or decreased to a fixed voltage width to the CPU chip set 28.

  When the first signal input terminal 201 and the second signal input terminal 203 are simultaneously touched or pushed by the user, the output frequency or the value of the output voltage returns to the initial value preset of the system. In consideration of safety, the maximum and minimum frequencies and voltage points are simultaneously limited to effectively protect the system.

  Further, the calculation control unit 22 described above is an independent external circuit, and transmits a signal to the clock generator 24 or the power supply controller 26, respectively. In addition, according to the present invention, the count control unit 22 can be directly incorporated in the clock generator 24 and matched in the same clock generation chip. Of course, the counting control unit 22 is directly built in the power supply controller 26 and matched in the same power supply control chip, and the clock generator 24 and the power supply controller 26 have their own built-in counting control unit 22. You can also.

  In order to effectively control and manage the system power, particularly the battery power of the notebook personal computer, a micro control chip 30, for example, an 8051 microcontroller is installed, and as shown in FIG. It is electrically connected to the counting control unit 22. The micro control chip 30 automatically monitors the system power. When the system power is insufficient, the micro control chip 30 generates a decreasing trigger signal to the counting control unit 22 and automatically decreases the output frequency to the clock generator 24. Or let the power controller 26 reduce the output voltage automatically. In addition, the micro control chip 30 generates a step-up trigger signal or a step-down trigger signal in the count control unit 22 based on a system load generated by an application program executed in the system, and outputs it to the clock generator 24. The frequency is automatically increased or decreased, or the output voltage is automatically increased or decreased by the power supply controller 26. Thus, effective power management is executed on the computer system to achieve the power saving purpose.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the power-saving trigger control device of the present invention is applied to frequency adjustment or voltage increase / decrease will be described. In the following embodiments, the first touch control interface and the second touch control interface are the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal, respectively, and the positive edge trigger signal and the negative edge trigger signal are respectively increased. The technique of the present invention will be described in detail by using a signal and a decreasing trigger signal as a preferred embodiment.

  First, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a power-saving trigger control device capable of instantaneously adjusting the frequency according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, this frequency trigger controller aligns the counting control unit 22 and the clock generator 24 directly in the same clock generation chip 32. The counting control unit 22 further includes a logic controller 221 that receives a positive edge trigger signal of the first touch control interface 202 or a negative edge trigger signal of the second touch control interface 204, and the logic controller 221. The counter 222 is connected to count the number of positive edge trigger signals or negative edge trigger signals. The clock generator 24 further includes a memory 241, a programmable divider 242, a phase locked loop 243, a clock divider 244, and an output register 245. The memory 241 stores the preset output voltage and records the number of times of increase or decrease. The programmable frequency divider 242 changes the numerical value based on the number of counts, and thereafter, the programmable frequency divider 242 is processed by the phase lock loop 243 and the clock frequency divider 244, and is output to the CPU chip set by the output register 245. The clock generator 24 can use other existing structures or chips in addition to the structure described above.

The details of the control method of this frequency trigger control device are as follows.
Frequency increasing period:
The user contacts the first touch control interface 202 and generates a corresponding number of positive edge trigger signals to the logic control unit 221 based on the number of times of contact.
The counter 222 calculates the first cumulative number of positive edge trigger signals.
The clock generator 24 performs the same number of linear multiplications on the output frequency with a fixed frequency width based on the first cumulative number to generate the output frequency required by the user.
Frequency decreasing period:
The user contacts the second touch control interface 204 and generates a corresponding number of negative edge trigger signals to the logic control unit 221 based on the number of times of contact.
The counter 222 calculates the second cumulative number of negative edge trigger signals.
The clock generator 24 generates the output frequency required by the user by performing the same number of linear diminishings on the output frequency with a fixed frequency width based on the second cumulative number.

  The above-described frequency increase or decrease can be performed under any system condition, and the frequency can be increased or decreased according to the user's request, so that the use is flexible.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a trigger control apparatus capable of immediate adjustment of voltage increase / decrease according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the voltage trigger control device further includes an external counting controller 23 and a power supply controller 26. The external count controller 23 is an independent external count controller, and further includes a counter 231, a register 232, and a digital-analog converter 233. The counter 231 counts the number of positive edge trigger signals of the first touch control interface 202 or negative edge trigger signals of the second touch control interface 204. The register 232 stores a preset output voltage. The digital-to-analog converter 233 changes the internal reference voltage based on the number of times counted by the counter 231 and the preset output voltage, and the power supply controller 26 linearly increases the output voltage to the external count controller 23, or , To be able to decrease. Thereafter, the output voltage is provided to the CPU chip set.

Details of the control method of this voltage trigger control device are as follows.
Boosting period:
The user contacts the first touch control interface 202 and generates a corresponding number of positive edge trigger signals to the external count controller 23 based on the number of times of contact.
The external counting controller 23 calculates the first cumulative number of positive edge trigger signals.
Based on the first cumulative number, the power controller 26 performs the same number of linear multiplications on the output frequency with a fixed frequency width to generate the output frequency required by the user.
Antihypertensive phase:
The user touches the second touch control interface 204 and generates a corresponding number of negative edge trigger signals to the external count controller 23 based on the number of times of contact.
The external counting controller 23 calculates the second cumulative number of negative edge trigger signals.
The power supply controller 26 performs the same number of linear diminishings on the output frequency with a fixed frequency width based on the second cumulative number of times, and generates the output frequency required by the user.

  The above-described step-up or step-down can be executed under any state of the system, and can be stepped up / step-down according to the user's request, so that the use is flexible.

  The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is achieved by an external counting controller and an existing power controller. In addition, the voltage trigger control device can match the count controller 25 and the power supply controller 26 directly in the same power control chip 34. As shown in FIG. , A register 252 and a digital-analog converter 253, and the details of the operation and method thereof are the same as in FIG.

In addition, the clock generator is combined with the power supply controller, and when the clock generator is overclocked or downclocked, the power supply controller can step up and down at the same time, but when the clock generator is overclocked by one increment, The controller is also boosted by a single increment, and the voltage increases significantly.
For example, when the frequency increases from 133 MHz to 1 233 MHz every time and increases to 233 MHz, the increase number is 100. The initial voltage is 1.5V, and each increment of voltage is 0.01V. Thereafter, 0.01 × 100 = 1V, so the frequency reaches 233 MHz and the voltage reaches 2.5V. If the maximum withstand voltage of the system is 2V, the system device will be destroyed or overheated. Therefore, after receiving N positive edge trigger signals or negative edge trigger signals, the power controller once sets the output voltage. Increase or decrease.
As shown in FIG. 2, the power controller 26 receives the signal of the signal control unit 20, and at the same time the counting control unit 22 triggers the clock generator 24, selects each N pulse cycles (Pulse cycle), The output power supply can be changed only once, and as shown in FIG. 7, a pulse whose output voltage can be changed only once is generated every four pulse periods.

Thus, according to the present invention, the present invention can immediately overclock and accumulate up to the maximum limit of the clock generator without an upper limit. It solves known hardware, firmware, and bus problems because it does not interrupt any software / firmware and does not affect the system.
Next, the present invention can mainly control the clock generator or the power supply controller directly by external hardware, has a fast reaction speed, and can directly change the frequency of the system power supply. , SM bus is not required. Furthermore, the present invention allows for immediate manual underclocking and step-down, reduces system power consumption, and eliminates the need for firmware development costs.

  Furthermore, many motherboard overclocks can reach high points when the system starts up (before entering the working system Windows), but they tend to crash during the process of entering Windows. Adjust to the appropriate frequency to enter Windows, then fine-tune to the desired frequency directly in Windows with the external hardware of the present invention, thereby reaching a higher frequency than before entering Windows Can do. In addition, since it is not necessary to execute a system program with high consumption and a software program with a large load even when the frequency becomes high in a Windows environment, according to the characteristics of the present invention, when executing a software program, Operation is even more flexible and simple due to the immediate adjustment of the frequency and the immediate voltage rise and fall control.

  In the present invention, preferred embodiments have been disclosed as described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the present invention, and any person who is familiar with the technology can use various methods within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Variations and moist colors can be added, and the protection scope of the present invention is based on the contents specified in the claims.

10 Confirm button 12 Firmware controller 14 Register 16 Clock generator 20 Signal control unit 201 First signal input terminal 202 First touch control interface 203 Second signal input terminal 204 Second touch control interface 22 Count control unit 221 Logic controller 222 Counter 23 External Count Controller 231 Counter 232 Register 233 Digital-Analog Converter 24 Clock Generator 241 Memory 242 Programmable Divider 243 Phase Lock Loop 244 Clock Divider 245 Output Register 25 Count Controller 251 Counter 252 Register 253 Digital-Analog Converter 26 Power supply controller 28 CPU chip set 30 Micro control chip 32 Clock generation chip 34 Electricity Source control chip

Claims (33)

A power-saving trigger control device that can adjust the frequency immediately,
A signal control unit having at least two signal inputs and generating a corresponding number of increasing trigger signals or decreasing trigger signals based on the number of triggers, respectively;
A counting control unit that is connected to the signal control unit and counts the received increase trigger signal or the decrease trigger signal;
A clock generator for linearly increasing or decreasing the output frequency based on the number of times of the increasing trigger signal or the decreasing trigger signal counted by the counting control unit;
A power-saving trigger control device comprising:   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein the output frequency is an external frequency of the CPU chip set.   The two signal input terminals are a first signal input terminal and a second signal input terminal, respectively, and the first signal input terminal generates the same number of increasing trigger signals based on the number of contacts, The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein the two signal input ends generate the decreasing trigger signal of the same number based on the number of times of contact.   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 3, wherein the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal are a touch control interface, a button, or a key.   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 3, wherein the output frequency returns to the initial value preset at the same time when the two signal input ends are contacted.   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein the counting control unit and the clock generator are matched in the same chip. The counting control unit further comprises:
A logic controller that receives the increasing trigger signal at the signal input end or the decreasing trigger signal;
A counter connected to the logic controller for counting the number of times of the increasing trigger signal or the decreasing trigger signal;
The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, comprising:   2. The power saving according to claim 1, wherein the clock generator increases or decreases a fixed frequency width of the output frequency each time the increase trigger signal or the decrease trigger signal is generated. Type trigger control device.   And a power controller connected to the signal control unit, the power controller increasing or decreasing the output voltage based on the number of times of the increasing trigger signal or the decreasing trigger signal, respectively. The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1.   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 9, wherein the power supply controller increases or decreases the output voltage once after receiving the N increasing trigger signals or the decreasing signals.   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 9, wherein the power controller includes a counting controller. The counting controller further includes:
A counter for counting the number of times of the increasing trigger signal of the touch control interface or the decreasing trigger signal;
A register to store the preset output voltage;
A digital-to-analog converter that linearly increases or decreases the output voltage to the power supply controller by changing an internal reference voltage based on the number of times the counter counts and the preset output voltage;
The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 11, comprising:   Furthermore, it has a power controller and an external counting controller, the external counting controller is connected to the signal control unit, the external counting controller based on the number of times of the increasing trigger signal or the decreasing trigger signal, The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein the output voltage of the power supply controller is changed to linearly increase or decrease the output voltage.   The power supply controller increases or decreases the output voltage once after the external counting controller receives the N increasing trigger signals or the decreasing trigger signals. Power-saving trigger control device.   The power supply controller increments or decrements a fixed voltage width of the output voltage every time the N number of increase trigger signals or the decrease trigger signal is generated. Power-saving trigger control device.   The power supply controller increments or decrements a fixed voltage width of the output voltage every time the N number of increase trigger signals or the decrease trigger signal is generated. Power-saving trigger control device. The external counting controller further includes:
A counter for counting the number of times of the increasing trigger signal of the touch control interface or the decreasing trigger signal;
A register to store the preset output voltage;
A digital-to-analog converter that linearly increases or decreases the output voltage to the power supply controller by changing an internal reference voltage based on the number of times the counter counts and the preset output voltage;
The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 13, comprising:   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 9, wherein the output voltage returns to an initial value preset at the same time when the two signal input terminals are contacted.   The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 13, wherein the output voltage returns to the initial value preset at the same time when the two signal input terminals are brought into contact with each other.   Furthermore, it includes a microcontroller chip electrically connected to the counting control unit, the microcontroller chip can automatically detect system power, and when the system power is insufficient, the microcontroller chip The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein a decreasing trigger signal is generated in the counting control unit, and the clock generator is caused to automatically decrease the output frequency.   Further, it includes a micro control chip electrically connected to the count control unit, and the count control is performed on the increase trigger signal or the decrease trigger signal based on a system load generated by an application program executed in the system. The power-saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein the power-saving trigger control device generates the unit and causes the clock generator to automatically increase or decrease the output frequency.   The power saving trigger control device according to claim 1, wherein the increasing trigger signal is a positive edge trigger signal, and the decreasing trigger signal is a negative edge trigger signal. A trigger control method capable of instantaneous frequency adjustment,
Triggering the first signal input and generating a corresponding number of increasing trigger signals based on the number of triggers;
Calculating a first cumulative number of increasing trigger signals;
Performing the same number of linear multiplications on the output frequency based on the first cumulative number of times, and a frequency escalation period having
Triggering the second signal input, and generating a corresponding number of decreasing trigger signals based on the number of triggers;
Calculating a second cumulative number of the decreasing trigger signal;
Performing a linear reduction of the same number of times on the output frequency based on the second cumulative number of times, and a frequency reduction period comprising:
A trigger control method comprising:   The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein the output frequency is an external frequency of the CPU chipset.   The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal are a touch control interface, a button, or a key.   24. The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein the output frequency returns to an initial value preset at the same time as the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal are contacted.   24. The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein the linear increase is to increase a fixed frequency width of the output frequency every time.   24. The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein the linear decrease is to decrease a fixed frequency width of the output frequency every time.   The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein linear increase is further performed on the output voltage based on the first cumulative number in the frequency increase period.   30. The trigger control method according to claim 29, wherein the output voltage gradually increases a fixed voltage width every N times in the first cumulative number.   24. The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein linear decrease is performed on the output voltage based on the second cumulative number in the frequency decrease period.   32. The trigger control method according to claim 31, wherein the output voltage decreases a fixed voltage width every N times in the second cumulative number.   The trigger control method according to claim 23, wherein the increasing trigger signal is a positive edge trigger signal, and the decreasing trigger signal is a negative edge trigger signal.

Images